Sucker For Love
by xxBurningxx
Summary: [AU] Sharp fangs that only seemed to manifest when she was looking, a distinct lack of reflection, an odd aversion to garlic... Diana Cavendish was obviously a vampire! / Akko, the new girl at Luna Nova, quickly finds it infuriating that everyone around her is seemingly oblivious to the blood-sucking nature of the school's most popular and admired student.
1. Chapter 1

First impressions were important. That was something that her parents had tried their darndest to drill into her head as a small child, not that it ever particularly stuck with the eccentric and wild bundle of energy that was a five-year-old Atsuko Kagari. Eventually they gave up (they probably realized the futility of it when she was nearing nine and still introducing herself in a chaotic display of too-big smiles and eager bounces). They settled on the belief that the high-strung girl would shine in the face of new things no matter what, and that was okay.

And yet, here Akko was at a whopping sixteen years old, gulping under the looming presence of her new academy with the vague memory of her parent's stern voices ringing in her ears. Maybe it was the prestigiousness of the school, or perhaps her distinct foreignness to it, but Akko found herself genuinely anxious for once in her life.

Of course, as she collected herself, hunched her school bag up onto her shoulder, and pushed forward and through the big wooden doors, that anxiety quickly dissolved as her usual feelings of bewilderment and excitement took over. Akko didn't exactly have a capacity for appreciating fine architecture and building structure, but even she felt a sense of awe as her eyes raked over the high arches, sleek floors and stretching halls. It was beautiful and the interior was exceptionally more inviting and cozy as opposed to the intimidating aura the exterior gave off.

"Wow..." she trailed off, spinning in a full circle to take all of it in. Her uniform skirt twirled around her.

In the midst of admiring her surroundings, a loud bell rung out. Not the obnoxious and cringe-inducing ringing that was so prominent at her previous public school, but rather a deep traditional bell that reverberated off the walls. Akko decided she liked it a lot more, even if it did startle her out of her stupor and remind her that she actually had things she needed to do. She gripped the sheet of paper in her hands and glanced down at it.

"Time to meet my roommates!"

* * *

It took Akko approximately four minutes of wandering the vast hallways before she was totally and utterly lost.

She shot the innocent paper a heated glare, as though doing so would somehow coerce the map to suddenly make sense. At arm's length, the brunette held it up in front of her as she chugged along, turning it upside down, sideways, diagonally... anything that may help her decipher the various blocks and numbers labeling them. With her vision obscured and her concentration so painfully centered on finding her way to her assigned dorm room, really, it was only a matter of testing fate before she went crashing into something.

Or rather, a _someone._

She panickedly jumped back and threw her arms up in a fluster. "O-oh my goodness! I am so so so sorr—"

"It would bode well for you to never do that again."

The words sizzled and died on the tip of her tongue as she was cut off. Akko blinked. And blinked again, before looking up at the girl she'd accidentally bumped into. A pair of impossibly blue eyes glared down at her and suddenly the brunette felt very small under their scrutinizing gaze.

"It was an accident, I swe—" Akko tried to start, but once again she was abruptly cut off.

"It seemed to me that you were blundering about with no regard for your surroundings," she said calmly, almost monotone but with a trace of venom snaking around in the syllables. Akko frowned.

First impressions were important her parents had insisted, and this chick wasn't leaving her with a good one.

"Okay, well first of all, stop interrupting me. Second, I'm obviously new here and lost. I can't even figure out where my room is!" she replied haughtily, glaring up at the rude girl. For a moment, all she did was stare back at her and a chill ran up Akko's spine as some of her nerves slithered away. There was the faintest trace of something lurking in them, something that set off her instinctual desire to flee and caused the hairs on her arms to stand at attention. It was really starting to give her the creeps...

But then the blonde opened her mouth, and words came out, and Akko promptly forgot about her unease.

"Are you... informing me that you're incapable of reading that map in your hands?"

"N-no!" she spluttered indignantly. What was with this woman?! "I just, I mean, it's a little—it's—ugh!" Akko struggled to find the adequate words. "Just look!" she burst, thrusting the sheet out at the blonde.

She took it, turned it upright and quirked a brow. "We're currently right here," she said, gesturing towards a spot at the bottom. "Which one is supposed to be yours?"

Akko had to think for a second to recall what the principal had told her over the phone a couple days ago. "Uhhh, 119B?"

It took the other girl all of three seconds to locate the correct room, pointing it out for Akko to see. "So we can conclude that reading simple letters and numbers are not among your skillset, yes?"

The red-eyed girl snatched the paper up and growled. "I swear that wasn't there before!"

She glared down at the sheet and was so concerned about committing the location of her new living quarters to memory that it took a few seconds for Akko to realize that the blonde hadn't said anything. When she looked up... she was just staring at her. Again. Intently. It looked as though a film had been placed over gaze, like her consciousness had wandered off somewhere far away and had left her corporeal body behind. At the same time though, those cerulean irises were most definitely trained on her. Akko swallowed nervously. Seriously, something was off in this chick's noggin. What was up with the total change in demeanor?

"Uhhmm... _right_ ," the shorter girl drawled awkwardly. All her previous ire had dissipated in the face of the new shift in atmosphere. "Thanks for the help?"

Apparently that snapped her out of whatever bizarre trance she'd been in. "Oh. Yes. Of course. If you'll excuse me, I must be somewhere now." Wasting no time, the blonde whipped around and briskly walked away, turning at the nearest corner available.

Akko, realizing that she hadn't even gotten her name, called out. "Hey wait!"

But as she chased her around the corner of the hallway, no one was there.

* * *

 **This is pure self-indulgent garbage, not gonna lie. But I wanted to just write something casual and not very complex for once, so... unsurprisingly, I found myself obsessed with the idea of Diana with fangs and well... here we are. Not sure what I'm doing with the story yet, but expect short and sporadic chapters. I want it to be sorta serious and silly all at once, so I guess we're gonna find out if that's something I can pull off.**

 **Also, Diana is kinda a jerk here but it's because she's hangry... and let's be real, Akko prolly looks pretty delicious. Sorrynotsorry.**


	2. Chapter 2

Just barely staving off the urge to sink her teeth into the new kid was probably a good thing to try and avoid, Diana decided as she swam through the shadows towards her destination. She double checked that Hannah and Barbara weren't present (she already knew they wouldn't be, because the duo should be occupied with their respective extracurricular Saturday classes at the moment, but Diana was nothing if not thorough about keeping her true nature tucked away and hidden) before melting out of the darkness.

She sighed, gently taking a seat at the edge of her bed as she rubbed the corner of her temple, wondering over the encounter she'd just had. _That_ was unsettling, to say the least. Sure, she had been considerably more on edge as of late—irritated, snappish and not quite herself; nine days past her routine feeding schedule could be attributed to that—but never had Diana Cavendish _actually_ struggled to hold herself back. The blonde crossed her arms and hummed, picking apart the scene to analyze it.

The disrupting crack in her feeding pattern was almost certainly the culprit, that much she was already convinced of. Diana had already started to notice the way her emotions had begun manifesting more than she usually allowed, frustrating as that was. She was keenly aware of how the delayed delivery of blood to her system was affecting both her brain and body.

That wasn't really the problem though, as she was already aware of how her emotions tended to flare when she was hungry and she'd never struggled too much on the rare occasion that shipments were late. It was unpleasant, sure, but never was it inhibiting to her ability to function like a normal "human". Something was inherently _off_ about whatever had just happened, something unprefaced that Diana was unsure of how to approach, which alone was enough to irk the blonde. She was not fond of unknown scenarios that laced her mind with confusion.

Conclusively, the new girl with the ruby-esque eyes was the culprit; she was a recently-introduced factor responsible for the shift. Without realizing it, Diana pulled the image of the brunette up in her thoughts. Goodness, those eyes... they reminded her very much so of what she would love to be drinking righ—

Diana shook herself.

This situation needed to be addressed.

She _needed_ her shipments.

The aristocrat stood to fish around under the mattress for a moment, successfully retrieving a sleek, silver-cased phone. Though the students of Luna Nova were not technically allowed to have them in possession on school property, Diana happened to fall under quite a _particular_ set of circumstances which allowed her to keep one on the campus. However, she preferred to keep it stashed away, both out of fear for someone finding it and connecting the dots (an impossible feat since Diana kept all the message threads wiped and her call history clean, yet the notion still worried her) but also because she frowned at the idea of the other girls incorrectly judging her. They would most likely assume her lineage to be the reason for her special privileges.

She punched in a number and lifted the device to her ear, listening to it ring as something resembling anticipation hung over her.

"Hello?"

"Anna. My dietary supplements. I'm aware that they were supposed to be a few days late, but it has far exceeded that time period. Please explain." Straight to the point. There was a slight pause on the other end and Diana scowled at her free hand, noticing that it was betraying her by disobediently shaking a little. Was she really that weak already?

"I'm afraid they still haven't arrived yet..."

The blonde could hear the nervous way the words tapered off, for due reason. Diana felt a sparking combination of panic and frustration rumble in her chest as she clenched her teeth; her fangs instinctively inched out in response to the tensing of muscles.

She stuffed the emotions away and put a lid on them as quickly as she knew how, simultaneously drawing her fangs back.

"I see," Diana said simply.

Perhaps Anna picked up on her displeasure because she hastily tried to offer, "We have some type O-negative leftover from that one time?"

"And you do recall how I reacted to that, yes?" Diana asked, somewhat incredulously.

"Right, of course. Sorry."

"Just inform me when they're in and have them delivered directly here please. Thank you." Diana promptly hung up then, which was perhaps a bit brash, but she wasn't much in the mood to care. After replacing the cellphone back to its proper hiding place, Diana shut her eyes as her thoughts whirled around.

She would simply have to wait things out.

* * *

As it would be, waiting ended up being a somewhat difficult task.

Only one day later, her condition had begun to swallow her up whole, chasing her in exceedingly alarming bursts as the hours slipped by. Every time Diana thought she had a firm grasp on her psyche, she'd inevitably feel her resolve slipping, the animalistic desire churning somewhere in her gut begging to be released. This is when Diana started to realize _just_ how abnormal the situation was.

And that was what was truly sent a shudder down the length of her back.

Because she thought she'd long-since abandoned these types of feelings in her past. She'd always prided herself on the ability to keep a tight wrap on her primal urges. She believed the traditional savagery of regular vampires beneath her, yet here she was having to fight off the very thoughts she loathed like a swarm of persistent wasps.

Truth be told, Diana was disappointed in herself.

There was still no word on the status of her dietary supplements—which is what she called the blood bags that sustained her because it sounded far less suspicious in the event of someone overhearing—and she could feel the tension coiled up in her chest, itching to strike.

The Cavendish girl put her pencil down and drug a hand down her face, forcing herself to inhale. She took in as much air as she could, allowing the oxygen to fill her lungs to the very brim before gently letting it escape in a quiet _whoosh_. She was briefly thankful that the simple act of breathing was something that hadn't been ripped away from her.

While the small action was calming, it didn't do a whole lot in the way of easing her nerves. There was another worrisome factor: she couldn't seem to expel the thought of the brunette from her mind. It was like a mental game of Whac-a-Mole, desperately trying to smack the persistent image of the red-eyed girl down every time she popped up.

Diana stood up from her desk, the chair scraping across the wooden floor as it was pushed back. Perhaps a little fresh air would help sooth her.

Striding across the room, the blonde picked up the umbrella leaning against the door frame, running her fingers across the silky white surface; though the material was thin, it was specially tailored to her needs, designed to efficiently block UV rays to protect her sensitive skin from the sun—which would still be standing high in the sky given that it was only mid-afternoon. She made her way down the hall and popped open her umbrella before pushing past a heavy pair of doors, already finding herself relaxing a bit at the notion of spending some solitary time with the universe.

Yes. Things would be alright. Surely she could manage until Anna informed her of the arrival of her supplements. Feeling a weight slowly begin to lift from her shoulders, Diana walked down the steps, allowing the crisp autumn breez—

Oh. Was that—?

 _Thump, thump, thump._

Yes. Yes it was. That was a heartbeat.

That's when Diana realized what a mistake coming outside had been.

She'd heard it first, then smelled it. A dull throb that almost seemed to encompass the air around her, carrying the tantalizing scent of blood with the thundering of a pulse. _Oh no._

There she was, just lounging around casually, seemingly sans a care in the world. The brown-haired girl she'd encountered the previous day—one of the primary sources of her frustration and worry—was sitting in the plush grass across the courtyard with two other students Diana vaguely recognized but had never really taken the time to get to know.

She needed to turn around. She needed to swiftly walk away from the situation because as something _intensely_ sharp growled in her stomach, _wow,_ Diana suddenly didn't trust herself not to do anything that may traumatize all the other humans in the nearby vicinity.

But instead of removing herself from the area right that moment, the blonde found that she seemed to be immobilized on the spot. Her thoughts took a shape of their own as her eyes fell on the brunette, drinking up the sight of her laying on her back, staring up at the sky...

That was quite the position to be laying in, wasn't it? Quite... exposed to predators, blatantly displaying her vulnerability—

Diana sharply shook her head. This was not acceptable. Yet, a loud voice that distinctly represented her gnawing instincts to pounce was yelling at her. _She's weak! Practically begging for it!_

"No!" she hissed at herself. The aristocrat grimaced, trying to gather herself and quell the sudden surge of feelings and thoughts. This was the civilized world of humans. She knew that better than anyone, after all the time she'd spent adapting to it, walking among it, embracing it. She was not about to go ruining all of that effort—all of that hard-spent energy chasing her dreams—because of some silly desire to drink a stranger's blood.

Yes. Nothing of the sort would be happening anytime soon.

But then the brunette across the yard sat up, a smile on her face as she was talking to the others, and two things happened at once.

First of all, the shift in position seemed to send a fresh wave of that painfully attractive smell through the air. It was as though the wind had chosen today of all days to mess with Diana, picking up the girl's scent and hand-delivering it right to her nose's doorstep.

Second, because _of course_ she did, the other girl noticed Diana standing there. Staring at her. Again.

Realizing what just happened, Diana tried to order her body to move but some part of her brain was still tangled up in that overpowering scent and she felt powerless to break the spell.

So, the new girl did it for her with a sharp, outbursting cry of, "Hey! That's her!"

With the newfound ability to walk, Diana spun on her heels. That was definitely her cue to high-tail it out of there like she should have in the first place.

* * *

 **I love seeing Diana internally struggle and try to suppress her desires. I tried my best with Diana's personality in this chapter, although if she seems excessively OOC, keep in mind that her rarely-broken feeding routine is all jacked up and she also has an inexplicable attraction towards Akko (which will be explained in the plot down the road... and also 'cause this is a cheesy self-indulgent romance, don't forget lol).** **Also, wow! Thanks to everyone for showing interest, the kind reviews are really motivating so don't forget to drop one if you're enjoying things so far. I may begin replying to individual comments on tumblr soon, especially with those that don't have an account here on ff. Anyway, thanks again everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey! That's her!" Akko exclaimed, her attention acutely snapping to the blonde holding up a pristine white umbrella. She turned to her new housing buddies, a pair of girls that were quickly becoming her friends despite having known them for scarcely more than a day. Okay—maybe she wasn't wholly convinced on the purple-haired student yet; Sucy was indubitably a bit of an... eclectic individual—but Akko, being _Akko_ , had already decided to do her best to establish something amicable there. Then there was the petite girl with orange hair, Lotte, whom Akko had practically glued herself to because their short time together had already revealed her to be a docile sweetheart.

The latter pushed her glasses up a bit, squinting at the woman standing across the courtyard by the steps.

Given how the moments happened to coincide, a ghost of a feeling began to wriggle in Akko's gut, a sensation that hinted towards the idea that the universe was toying with her. After all, Akko had just been telling the two of them about Weird Staring Girl (that being the perfectly suitable nickname her brain had assigned to the blonde), and now the person in question had materialized with perfect timing.

And to Akko's immediate dismay, neither produced the alarm or concern she felt was warranted for the situation.

"Oh!" Lotte exclaimed, recognition flashing across her face as she raised a finger to indicate her sudden realization. "That's Diana Cavendish!" Just as the words left her mouth, Akko watched with apprehension as the apparent... Diana... turned to stalk up the stairs, disappearing in a flourish as quickly as she'd emerged.

"Diana?" Akko said slowly, testing the syllables on her tongue. It was a pretty name—one that clashed with the strange, preconceived image that Akko had already brashly painted in her head.

"She's the descendant of an incredibly well-known royal family," Lotte informed, nodding. "And she's very popular. A lot of students look up to her work, even the teachers too sometimes." The ginger shifted in her spot, the next line of words falling out in a way that was almost bashful. "I haven't interacted with her much, but her diligent nature is very admirable."

Akko glared at the ground, biting her lip in vague frustration. Really? Her? Weird Staring Girl with the piercing azure irises and flighty attitude was actually... something of a local celebrity at Luna Nova? That couldn't be right. No. The brunette roused the memory of her sharp, derogatory comments, the snooty atmosphere and oddly harsh gaze, the way she really hadn't hesitated to make less-than-savory jabs at her personality. "She accused me of not being able to read maps," Akko said, scowling, although the words admittedly sounded a bit silly once they leaped into the air.

"But can you though?" Sucy piped in, seeming genuinely curious with the way she cocked her head the slightest bit. But upon Akko's indignant expression, she began snickering in a way that could have been interpreted as malicious but probably wasn't. While those sorts of interactions mostly bounced off Akko's unwavering personality, the almost-mean-spirited-but-not-quite nuances that Sucy flaunted were something the brunette was still growing accustomed to.

"It was very confusing!" Akko pouted, crossing her arms and looking away as she deflated. Lotte just smiled at the interaction, ignoring it as she continued.

"Diana can be a little..." Lotte searched for the word. "Clinical? Especially towards those she's just met. Her image is very important to her."

"Well, insulting new students and _stalking_ them doesn't seem like a good way to make people like you," Akko grumbled.

"I doubt she's stalking you," Lotte giggled, patting her on the shoulder. "It's probably a coincidence."

Akko grumbled and stared at the space where Diana had been standing just a few minutes ago.

A coincidence, huh?

* * *

Akko tapped the eraser end of her pencil against the desk erratically as her eyelids fought an intense battle to maintain their ability to stay open; it was a quarrel that was quickly being lost. As the soft tapping of the utensil created a haphazard beat, Akko found her sleepy thoughts crafting imaginary lyrics to the monotonous melody. Something about the endless waves of the ocean... and also something about food?

She was abruptly yanked back to the waking world when Professor Finneran's sharp voice hollered her name out for the entire class to hear.

"Miss Kagari! Just because this is your first day of attendance at Luna Nova does not mean you may assume a lax posture. Quite the opposite should apply, rather! How about you come down here and fill out these blanks?"

Still tangled up in a daze, Akko narrowed her eyes at the chalkboard. There was a lengthy sentence written out with several missing words in it, chunks removed from a whole. It sort of reminded her of Swiss cheese. "Uhhh..." The brunette scratched at her head. "I don't think I can, ma'am?"

Finneran, with a deep scowl that wrinkled her expression, was in the act of opening her mouth (presumably to give Akko a lecture) when a voice from the row above cleared their throat. As Akko instinctively swung around to look up at the noise, her breath tripped on its way down her throat when she realized that it was Diana, arm stiffly extended into the air.

"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'd like to solve the problem if that's alright."

Seeming mildly irritated that her endeavors to chew out a helpless Akko had been cut short, the professor nodded for Diana to come forward... though not without leveling a glare at Akko that insinuated that she'd be keeping a close eye on her. Swallowing thickly, the brunette watched the blonde strode to the front of the classroom with an air of elegance, noting the poise in her step as she stopped to pick up a piece of chalk before filling in the blanks of the sentence in a fancy-looking cursive.

Being of no surprise to anyone in the classroom, Diana's written answers were flawless and Finneran praised her accordingly (if not excessively). "Miss Kagari, it would be wise to take a page out of Diana's book when it comes to academic assiduity." And while the remark was somewhat irritating, and she also had no idea what that last word even meant, Akko couldn't help but feel a tiny spark of admiration for the other girl... Paying attention and maintaining above-average grades had always been a less-than-easy task for Akko, and witnessing someone who seemed to do precisely that with such unassuming ease sent equal parts jealousy and inspiration twirling through her. Really, it wa—

Whatever thoughts she'd been entertaining about the blonde burst in that second and that second alone, the various sparks of emotion spiraling down the drain when Diana turned away from the board. As the pair of icy cerulean eyes happened to land directly on her, the entirety of Akko's mind went blank, zapped for a second that felt tout over the course of an eternity before snapping under the pressure. When everything sort of jump-started back into gear, Akko found herself looking back at an almost quizzical expression. It made her feel funny and somehow offended all at once. Maybe because Diana's mien seemed to regard her like a benign growth that was in haste need of dissecting. Or maybe because Akko wasn't fond of being visually assaulted.

Either way, Diana hadn't even managed to return to her seat before Akko was already leaning over to hiss in Lotte's ear.

"Did you see that?! That was _not_ a coincidence!"

* * *

 **Let it be known that I really struggled with this chapter and I'm not pleased with it at all. I ended up rewriting and cutting out several scenes multiple times and it got weird. I just hope it's not too disappointing; the main purpose right now is to build up the oddness and tension of their dynamic and point out for both characters that there's a mutual draw towards one another that can't be explained yet.**

 **Next chapter we get to see these dweebs interact a bit and Akko starts thinking a bit... which we all know probably isn't a good thing for all parties involved.**

 **Thank you so much to everyone for the interest and support so far! It means the absolute universe to me.**


	4. Chapter 4

Atsuko Kagari.

She rolled the name on her mental tongue a few times, letting it rattle around in her thoughts as her feet distractedly walked in the direction of her next lesson. Given her keen sense of hearing, it had been easy to catch the name being uttered here and there amongst the regular classroom chatter; new students always carried a bit of a buzz around them, or at least they did when it came to prestigious academies such as Luna Nova.

Now, if only Diana could elucidate _what_ made the person attached to that name so special. _Why_ these abnormalities were taking place around the mystically ruby-eyed girl. Because whatever just happened in Professor Finneran's linguistics class earlier was decidedly not normal.

An onslaught was the best way to describe it, really. An involuntary horde of thoughts and images and memories that were distinctly _not_ her own. A chill snaked down the length of Diana's spine as she resummoned the experience, setting her fangs on edge. The foreign entities had taken over, dominating her headspace for such an insanely brief snippet of time that it was hard to comprehend everything that had flashed through. And the most concerting part?

She was nearly certain those thoughts and images and memories belonged to one Atsuko Kagari.

It was near impossible to discern what the incident meant, and the way it had zipped through like a stray bolt of lightning meant that deciphering the smorgasboard of information was a formidable task. Although Diana wasn't even convinced that she wanted to. If felt like an invasion of privacy, in a way.

Sighing, an unwelcome wave of irritation rolled in from nowhere as Diana stepped into her mathematics class. For all those years studying her condition, practicing how to be around humans again, slaving over the ancient texts to absorb as much information as she could... it was not a pleasant feeling to have everything unravel into a dark abyss of the unknown all over again, with an unassuming girl serving as the catalyst, no less.

Diana was dragged from her ponderance by the simultaneous ringing of the period bell and a student dashing through the door just before the series of indicatory noises could end.

O _h_. The blonde wasn't really one to believe in signs from the universe or uncanny spiritual philosophies, but she had to admit that for once in her life, she felt positive that there were greater powers at work.

 _And those powers are trying to ruin me,_ she thought as her eyes trailed Atsuko to a seat a couple rows down.

Another tide of frustration—bred from her persisting hunger and vexation by the unfamiliarity of her circumstances—washed over the blonde and she forced herself to glare down at her hands. It would appear that she would be sharing _numerous_ classes with the girl. Brilliant.

She'd been able to keep herself in check during first period. Second had actually gone alright too, up until the moment their gazes (and minds?) became tangled up.

And now here she was, an unwelcome yet enticing presence in her third period class, and the more time Diana was forced to spend in relative proximity to the mortal, the more shewas beginning to worry about her ability to focus on her academic endeavors. She could feel the edges of her equanimity begin to waver in the way her brain started to shift gears towards something animalistic. Something a smidge more primal than she liked to admit.

It was hardly Diana's fault though.

After all, it was a bit distracting, that aroma was.

The sharp tang of iron mixed with delicate sweetness emanated from Atsuko's being in strong surges, infiltrating Diana's nose. Her saliva glands seemed to have kicked into high-gear without her consent. And while the aristocrat would _never_ admit its actual occurrence, the quietest, most imperceptible whimper slithered past her lips before she could intervene. She was _so_ hungry...

 _Stop this foolishness!_ she internally hissed at herself. Diana tucked a strand of hair back and straightened her posture, coercing her attention forward. What was being discussed? Oh, yes. Professor Badcock had begun a lecture at the front of the room and was pacing to and fro as she discussed how math could be applied to the physical world.

But try as she might to soak up the words, the incessant lull of Atsuko's heartbeat kept her from doing so. It was suddenly very loud again, just as it had been the prior day in the courtyard. Caught in a momentary haze, it drummed in Diana's ears, bouncing off the walls. She was drowning in it.

Then she visibly shook her head and the intensity dimmed several notches, much to her relief.

This—whatever _this_ was—was not acceptable. It was of utmost importance that she excel in her education. She had expended so much energy to earn the luxury of attending Luna Nova. Diana wanted to be a regular student and earn her degree, strived to achieve her goals by herself like any other human would. It was one long-lost sense of normalcy that she had fought for and wasn't prepared to waste because some silly human had a mysterious way of making her fangs ache.

So, all Diana could do was pray to the possibly-metaphorical gods that she had no further mutual classes with the brunette and ignore her in the ones they did share...

Needless to say, that was _far_ easier said than done; Diana ended up taking more mental notes on the subtle changes in Atsuko's heartbeats per minute than she did literal notes over the history of numerology.

And when she realized what she was doing, the tiniest ghost of a blush danced on her cheeks.

* * *

Diana carefully unpacked her lunch, cursing at the minuscule trace of a tremble in her hands as she went about placing the various assortment of foods around her in an orderly fashion. The regular human morsels would do nothing to satiate her _real_ thirst, but maintaining a physically full stomach helped keep the gnawing feeling at bay. She was about to take her first bite from a slice of fresh apple when a loud, grating voice exploded right above her, almost causing her to drop the piece of fruit.

"I demand an explanation!"

Wonderful. This certainly hadn't been on Diana's list of what to expect for the day, although maybe she shouldn't have been surprised; her luck hadn't exactly been playing to her advantage as of late.

Diana's gaze did a little gambol, looking at the hand that had been slammed on the table in front of her, up to Atsuko, around the cafeteria where many eyes had been drawn towards them, then finally back to the brunette again. Her rusty red eyes were shining, full to the brim with what looked like a hodgepodge of indignance and determination churning in their depths.

She felt Barbara and Hannah, who always sat with her on the days she actually showed up for lunch, bolt upright in their seats, ready to defend her. Diana simply held a hand up to stop them from whatever they were about to say, her own frigid cerulean irises not leaving the flaring ruby ones staring down at her. This was _not_ what Diana wanted to be dealing with, not after her intense morning of vampiric fastballs and trying to disregard the very girl that was standing before her.

"Excuse me?"

"I said," she huffed, drawing her hand back and crossing her arms, "you owe me an explanation."

"And to what does this matter even regard?" Diana asked, setting her apple slice down. So much for the notion of lunch.

"Uhh! I mean— you! Obviously!"

 _Thump, thump, thump._ Diana's gaze slowly dropped from Atsuko's eyes and down to her neck. _Thump, thump, thump._ Fast. Racing, even. And loud, so very loud.

"Hello?" Suddenly there were fingers snapping in front of her face and Diana loathed the way her entire body jumped a little.

"It's already clear that this concerns me," Diana drawled slowly, actively forcing herself to meet Atsuko's gaze again. "I'd like to know why you're interrupting my lunch."

"Yeah!" Baraba exclaimed, chiming in to voice her concern. "You're ruining our precious time with Diana!"

"She barely comes to the cafeteria anymore!" An angry finger was thrust at the girl. "It's probably because a noble of such high standards doesn't want to be disgraced by eating in the same presence of peasantry like you!"

Honestly, for a second, the only thing Diana's brain picked up from that excessively elitist line was ' _doesn't want_ ' and ' _eating_ ', which automatically got translated into ' _doesn't want to be eating you_ '. And because that was indeed something she did not want to be doing (a blatant lie if she was being candid with herself, which she wasn't), Diana murmured, "Something like that," almost entirely to herself.

But Atsuko must have heard it, because Diana watched a flurry of expressions scurry across her face. The tail end of something resembling pain took residency for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by hot anger, followed up by an indignant puff of the cheeks.

"W-w-wha—this is my first day of classes!" Atsuko spluttered, obviously taken aback by Hannah's viciously-thrown fallacy. "I just got here and she's at lunch today, isn't she? So if anything, it would make more sense that she's avoiding you two when she doesn't show up!" The two gasped in unison at the horrendous suggestion, thoroughly appearing ready to throw down with the new student. But the haughty brunette was already addressing Diana again before they could even begin to counter the argument.

"It doesn't matter!" Without warning, those impossibly sparkling eyes were boring down on her again. "If Diana _does_ have a problem with me, then she should tell me to my face!"

It was a challenge. Her eyebrow twitched.

"Tell me what it is! Is there something funny about my face? Was it because I accidentally bumped into you? Because let me tell you, if you're still upset b— "

And then time stopped moving. Diana abruptly leapt forward, cutting her off mid-sentence only to bury her twin pair of canines into her throat, sending a cacophony of alarm throughout the cafeteria. There were screams of alarm, but none of them drowned out the roaring in her own head, the surge of power, the inferno of flavor as hot crimson splashed against her tastebu—

She blinked. What? No, no, no. That _was not_ what just happened. Even though she kind of wished it did. But only kind of. Just a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot—what? She blinked again.

Atsuko was looking at her expectly, although confusion was beginning to nudge its way onto the expression as well.

Diana was supposed to respond now, wasn't she? _You're a Cavendish. Get it together._ Right.

With an imperceptible nod, she stood and straightened her uniform tie. Deep breathe. This needed to be addressed, and not in the way her gut was begging for it to be. Diana merely hoped that the slight tremble taking hold of her entire body was unnoticeable, and that the faint ghost of a tremor in her tone was swallowed up by the open space and high ceiling of the building.

"Atsuko, I apologize if you have interpreted our limited interactions as malicious or offensive in any way. I can assure you that I have never intended as such." She paused. A desire to bite someone out of necessity for survival wasn't malicious, was it? "I know that I was quite... unsavory towards you the day we met. If you will, I would greatly appreciate it if you excused my behavior. I really... have not been myself as of late."

The crimson-eyed girl was clearly at a loss for words and as her jaw appeared to be struggling to decide what it wanted to do. Before she could, Hannah's distressed wail shattered them both out of the moment.

"Oh! Diana! So it's true, you've been unwell! No wonder you've been acting strangely!"

"And you! This imbecilic new girl who thinks she knows everything has the nerve to make our lovely Diana feel guilty about it! She has a medical condition, you know!"

Ah yes. Her "condition." The one that the school administration and a heavy amount of the student body was aware of; only Headmaster Holbrooke was privy to what exactly that condition entailed. What a perfect time to drag that particular wad of information to light. As if to emphasize the matter, Diana sat back down, feeling weak in the knees.

"A... medical condition?" Atsuko looked like she was still trying to maintain some modicum of anger but was wriggling under the weight of it. Then something dawned on her. "Wait! Is that why you had that umbrella when you were outside?"

Diana stiffened but then forced herself to relax. _Everyone on this campus has seen me with that umbrella at some point or another, it's alright._ "Yes," she affirmed. "I have severe porphyria, which is to say sunlight and I do not mix well."

The girl's blank look said she had no idea what that was, which was probably better to Diana's cause anyway.

But then, of course, Hannah had to blurt, "And garlic! She's very allergic to garlic! So you tell your witchy friend over there not to tamper with Diana's food or anything!" Sucy, a few tables down and apparently listening (a great number of students had stopped caring about the exchange but some were still eying them), merely offered a toothy grin.

"... Garlic?"

This was too much for Diana. She felt drained enough as it was. Her mind kept replaying that accursed fantasy of sinking her fangs into the innocent girl in the background. The imagery was proving hard to shake, despite everything.

"Yes, now. If you could please avoid such blatant outbursts in the future, that would be marvelous. Whatever misunderstanding we've had has reached a conclusion so I believe we are done here."

A tiny burst if irritation fell over Atsuko, Diana noting that the girl was quick to temper— _quick to raise her pulse_ —but then it floated away and she nodded quickly, bouncing on the heels of her feet. "Oh! Okay. Yeah. See you around then, Diana!"

But something about the obvious way the gears in her head were working when she turned to walk away left Diana feeling uneasy.

* * *

 **Oh Akko... Don't get any ideas, you silly thing. (Of course she's gonna get ideas. This is Akko we're talking about.) By the way, I totally headcanon that Diana would refer to Akko with her proper name until she explicitly tells her to call her otherwise, so yeah. Also, mmm-juicey on tumblr did some hella amazing art for the cover of this story!**


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